Doggie-Dos – what dogs REALLY want is a unique book designed to appeal to dog lovers around the world. Unique in its presentation (it is written by Archie, a border collie – well they are renowned for their smartness!), it is the only book written by a dog about what dogs really want. Informative, practical and humorous – it is a book that entertains and educates. Part training and behavioural guide, part fun – it features snippets from famous people and famous dogs, lots of anecdotal stories about other dogs who have lived with Archie’s people, and feedback from his 100’s of doggie friends around the world.

Tired of the sometimes contradictory information shared among people about how dogs ought to be treated, Archie decided to run a little research among his doggy friends to compile a list of the Top 10 things dogs REALLY want. The list kept growing and growing – to 50 things! The book is made up of short easy to read chapters and can be read from cover to cover, or dipped in and out of.

Here’s a little snippet….

INTRODUCTION

I regard taking on the role of spokesdog for my fellow canines worldwide as a great responsibility. Some may not describe me as responsible, particularly when I am partaking in some of my favourite sports: mud-digging, circuit running while tossing assorted toys into mid-air, sitting on the kitchen window-ledge, …but at heart I am quite a serious chap when it comes to how us dogs and you humans communicate with one-another. Thankfully my people take me out and about a lot and I regularly chat with many fellow-dogs from a variety of backgrounds and have over time been somewhat shocked – as well as gladdened – by assorted doggy tails (sp).

It would seem that the biggest problem between you humans and us canines is a lack of understanding. You seem to think we are human, until you get really FRUSTRATED and then you often treat us worse than you would treat another human!

Mind you, you seem to have enough trouble understanding and getting along with one-another, so why am I surprised!? If you were to scan the bookshelves in my people’s house you would see assorted ‘relationship’ titles, most famously is the one him and her used to refer to from time to time (before they divorced): Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Hmmm. Well let me tell you now, Dogs are from Pluto. WE ARE NOT HUMANS!!

Tired of the sometimes contradictory information shared among people about how us dogs oughta be treated (show ‘em who’s boss/treat them like a baby, shout when they do wrong/praise when they do right, use a choke chain/use a harness, sleep outside/sleep inside…..need I go on?) I decided to run a little research of my own among my doggy friends to compile a list of the Top Ten Things Doggie’s Really Want. Well, to say my pee-mail went viral is an understatement. Word soon spread from lamppost to tree, and before I knew it the list was growing……

So here it is, in no particular order (for now)……….(and there are more than 10!)

1.

Do….exercise your dog

Quite simply, dogs need to have ‘appropriate’ exercise. I say appropriate because of course we are all different – different breeds, ages, fitness levels and sizes. In fact no other species comes in such diverse types! But we are all dogs and one of the best ways you can keep us happy and healthy, have fun with us and prevent us getting stressed, frustrated, bored and angry is to let us walk, run, jump, explore, dig, swim, climb….yippee!! This one simple thing (which incidentally has lots of bonuses for you, too) could stop us doing some of the things you don’t like us doing: chewing stuff, digging where we shouldn’t, pacing, barking, whining, howling…..need I go on?

Now I know from speaking to many other dogs that you humans have very different ideas about what physical exercise is – and of course some of you are not as fit and able as others. But lets be clear, it can be about quality as well as quantity. For instance, 5 miles through fun countryside is much more fun than the equivalent on a treadmill; and you wanging a tennis ball 50 times might leave many of us panting and flopping at your feet with each return, but it can also leave us feeling stressed and wound-up – even aching (ever heard of repetitive strain injury), or injured (we were not designed to leap and land all our weight from great heights on two back legs! Ouch). However, physical exercise is not always enough. We do like to use our brains too – in fact I sometimes feel more tired after an interesting 20 minute training session than I do after a long walk. So please people – work our minds as well as our bodies. You see, if you don’t provide us with the right kind of mental and physical stimulation – we will attempt to provide our own.

We love the company of other dogs, too (well, some more than others) so if you have only one dog in your family, please do meet up with other dog families so we can play on our walks – nothing quite beats the exercise we get when playing and walking. I do love my people, but I simply can’t play with them the way I do with my doggy friends. Of course there are some dogs that aren’t as well socialised and easy going as me, so do choose our friends wisely.

If this has whetted your appetite, please drop us an email via the ‘contact us’ tab on the home page…… and you will be one of the first to know when Archie’s book is published.